Tuesday, March 25, 2014

I was invited for the launch of a ‘Photography
Heritage Walk’ hosted by Raconteur Walks Tourism. This was indeed a unique
concept introduced in Mumbai wherein you are not only shown the heritage structures
of this great city but also guided as to the best way to capture the beauty in
your cameras by an expert photographer! Being a lover of Mumbai I jumped at the
opportunity and was not disappointed.

We gathered at the Crawford market, where we were
briefed about Mumbai, its history and geography, by Saurabh and Dwayne who were
the guides for this tour. Saurabh, incidentally is an IT expert and Dwayne a
geologist, but doing this to share their love and knowledge of this wondrous
city and listening to them one would get the impression that they are
historians of Mumbai! We were each presented with a Raconteur cap to ensure we
could easily be identified on the crowded streets of Mumbai and an energy bar
to keep us energised for the three hour walk.

After the walk through Crawford Market, we walked
along JJ College of Architecture and Fine Arts whose walls were decorated beautifully
with students’ art.

Then on we went to the famous Chhatrapati Shivaji
Terminus, the only Railway Terminus in the world to have a World Heritage
Status! Saurabh explained the symbolism of the various statues on the building.
Opposite stood the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters whose dome

also has a very interesting fact. Apparently the dome was used to store water
to douse any fire in the building using hydraulical systems!

Then we walked along Dadabhai Naoroji Road which was
flanked on either side by amazing buildings with the travel photography expert Gustasp Irani guiding the participants in taking the best

pictures all the way to Flora
Fountain where again Saurabh and Dwayne gave us deep insights into the history
of the monument.

And then off we walked to the marvellous Asiatic
library whose pillars too have an interesting story

just as the Horniman circle
gardens and the buildings around do.

Then it was time to walk to the art deco area of
Mumbai – Marine Drive, which we were left to explore on our own, with a brief
history and fond farewells.

Strangely all the participants of the tour were
Mumbaikars except for one American tourist! And everyone went home much
enlightened and awed about the city we lived in.

Thank you Raconteur Walks’ Saurabh and Dwayne for the
knowledge you shared.

If anybody is interested in taking any of their
various interests walking tours of Mumbai you may click on Raconteur Walks.

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Monday, March 24, 2014

A water fountain erected in memory of Bomonjee Hormarjee Wadia Esq. in 1880 in Bazaar Gate Street in the Fort area of Mumbai. He was a wealthy trader and the Sheriff of Mumbai in 1859. Unfortunately this structure is near ruins now.

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Thursday, March 20, 2014

A large cricket bat measuring 15x2 feet sculpted of Fiberglass by Mr. Jagdish Pandurang Wangde, on display at the Kala Ghoda Art Festival. His tribute to the Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar. He can be contacted on +919702615416.

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